Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

In Man and the Beasts, St. Albertus Magnus discusses the physiological processes and anatomical structures associated with human reproduction, particularly the sperm, as well as an alphabetized sequence of animal descriptions. In these passages, Albert subtly hints at how “man, the most perfect of all animals#” has a definite social hierarchy inscribed in the body. This may very well be the case, but the role that this hierarchy should play in the lives of individuals is questionable. In his discussion of the nature of the male and female sperms, Albert says that “the man’s sperm acts as the operative and formative agent while the woman’s sperm or generative fluid, along with her menstrual blood, serves as the material basis.”# This description con